


A Long Night

by AdorabloodthirstyKitty



Series: I'll Make You A Deal [1]
Category: Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, M/M, Original Character(s), punk!jack
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-30
Updated: 2016-05-30
Packaged: 2018-06-06 15:47:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,157
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6760129
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AdorabloodthirstyKitty/pseuds/AdorabloodthirstyKitty
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>my exact summary while I was writing this: Jack having a small crisis over Caleb wanting him back and his feelings for Mark, Mark having a crisis over liking Jack. feelings are hard and life is pain and these nerds need to kiss already</p>
    </blockquote>





	A Long Night

**Author's Note:**

> my exact summary while I was writing this: Jack having a small crisis over Caleb wanting him back and his feelings for Mark, Mark having a crisis over liking Jack. feelings are hard and life is pain and these nerds need to kiss already

The room is still empty when Jack gets back, seeming to ring with silence. Jack falls back on his bed in a slump, looking to his headphones idly, groaning in frustration as he rakes a hand through his mess of green hair and flops on the bed. He opens his eyes and glares at the ceiling as if it'll give him answers, wondering what the hell he did wrong.

The past few weeks had been going so well. The plan was working, they were pulling it off. So why was his mind feeling so muddled? Why did it feel like something was wrong?

He throws an arm over his eyes, shutting them as he tries to get his thoughts in order.

He thinks back on everything they'd been through, the way he'd shut himself off from Mark at first, the deal, the way he'd finally started opening up to the theater major. How much fun they'd have, playing video games or hanging out with friends. The way Mark sang with his sister in the basement. The fire in his chest that flared up when Mark's family had attacked him, the need to defend him and put them in their place. The huge smile on Mark's face afterward, the hug he didn't want to end.

Jack swallows around a small lump in his throat, trying to look at it logically. He likes Mark. He's fun to hang out with, he's kind, he's talented.

 _He's gorgeous_ his mind supplies, making him huff again. He doesn't even try to argue, knowing it's useless. He sighs as his mind is filled with memories of Mark, the feeling of muscles and the soft fabric of his sweater surrounding Jack when he hugged him. The smell of his cologne, the way his breath had ghosted along his ear, his voice so close he'd had to suppress a shiver.

He moves the arm from over his eyes, staring at the ceiling again as he remembers the last few hours. Sitting in a booth with Mark, Bob, and Wade. Mark's smile and laugh, the way he held Jack's hand without any hesitation. How happy he'd been, grinning at Jack like the goddamn sun, making Jack smile in return. The way he glared at Caleb when he came over, reluctant to let go of Jack's hand. The look he'd given Jack, his emotions written plainly across his face. Tension, wariness, anger, jealousy, fear, all plain as day before he'd wiped the expression away, smiling at Caleb as if he hadn't just bared his emotions to Jack. Jack swallows again, unsure what to do with that look, unsure what to do with Mark.

And then there's Caleb. Someone who had been his whole world. The way he felt by his side, as if they were above everyone else. The trouble they'd gotten into, the fun they'd had. The feeling he always had when he was with him, as if he were falling from a huge height.

He remembers the nights on his couch, curled up and watching horror movies, hiding against Caleb as he pulled him in tighter. He remembers parties and late nights, drinking and playing with the band, belonging somewhere.

He sighs, thinking back on what Iesha and Violet had said, Iesha's words ringing in his ears.

“You don’t wanna get stuck with somebody that’s gonna treat you like shit, y’know?”

He frowns, thinking over the conversation, thinking over his interactions with Mark and Caleb.

Why was this so hard!? He loved Caleb. He was doing all of this to get back with him. So why did it feel wrong? Why did he feel guilty when he'd pulled him aside and told him he missed him? Why did it feel like he was missing something important?

He turns over onto his stomach, shoving his face into his pillow and letting out a long groan. It was going to be a very long night.

-

Mark sits alone in the library, textbook open and eyes glued on the page. The same page he's been trying to read for half an hour now. He huffs out a sigh, pushing his seat back as he tries to focus unsuccessfully. His mind keeps returning to thoughts of Jack, of bright blues eyes and soft green hair, his smile and his laugh, the way his body sprawls out when he sleeps.

Mark groans quietly, running a hand over his face. He glares at the table in front of him as if it's the cause of his troubles, as if it's the reason everything seems to be going wrong.

He likes Jack. He doesn't know when it happened, but somewhere along the line his completely platonic feelings had shifted, leaving his heart beat speeding up whenever he gets close, his stomach doing flips when he smiles.

He frowns as he remembers the earlier interaction with Caleb, the stupid smirk on his handsome face as he pulled Jack away. The thought of him and Jack going to Caleb's cabin fills him with fear and anxiety, knowing exactly how much power Caleb still holds over Jack. He's sure that Caleb is planning on getting Jack back at the cabin, and the thought makes Mark sick to his stomach with jealousy and disgust. The thought of Jack under Caleb's arm makes Mark want to rip his hair out, wishing it could be the way it was before when they just tolerated each other, when holding Jack's hand didn't send butterflies to his stomach and his laugh didn't make him feel like seeing color in a world of black and grey. He likes Jack too much to see him strung along by someone as slimy and manipulative as Caleb, and it hurts to think that it's something Jack actually wants.

And if the sudden realization that he's not as heterosexual as he'd thought he was isn't enough, he also just found out that he didn't get the part in _Chicago_. With all the trips to their parents houses and the time spent on Jack's charade, he'd completely pushed the audition out of his mind, and had just found out today that he didn't get the part. The fact that Felix was now his agent helped assuage some of his worries, but the fear of not getting a part still gnawed at him. The closer it got to the end of the year, the farther away his dreams of Broadway seemed to get. If he was going to stay at this school and do what he loved, he needed to focus one hundred percent on his auditions. He had to prove his mother wrong.

But how was he supposed to get an audition when all he wanted to do was hold Jack's hand and make him smile, to hug him tight and not let go?

Mark groans again, head falling forward with a light _thunk_ on the table.

It was going to be a very long night.

**Author's Note:**

> finally writing something for this amazing fic. I love imyad so freaking much it's ridiculous and I've been dying to write some stuff for it. it's honestly one of my favorite fics rn and I can't describe how much I love everything about it properly, it's just too amazing. this definitely won't be the last fic I do for this story. thanks so much for reading and I hope you liked it!!


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